Edward Hardy Harrison LL.D. (August 28, 1926 – January 16, 2015) was an English-Canadian artist who created many paintings of the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

Early life and education

Ted Harrison was born in

Wingate, County Durham Wingate is a village in County Durham, England. Wingate is a former pit village with a mixture of 19th-century, post-war, and more recent housing developments. It was originally inhabited by around 30 farmers before 1839 when coal was discovere ...

, England, in 1926. He started to paint at the West Hartlepool School of Art in England. Although interrupted by war, Harrison went on to complete his studies, being awarded a National Diploma in Design from the College in 1949. His subsequent earning of a teaching certificate from the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

and a B.Ed from the University of Alberta, led to a teaching career that lasted almost three decades.

Career

Then in 1968, he resided in Yukon, Canada, a location with prominence in many of his works. He stayed there until 1993. His work from this period focused on the colours and culture of the Yukon. He worked, from the 1970s and thus in his post-academic capacity, not only as an artist but also as an illustrator and author. His work in the field earned him a national first: selection for the International Children’s Book Exhibition in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

, Italy. One of his illustrations is of the Robert Service poem "

The Cremation of Sam McGee "The Cremation of Sam McGee" is among the most famous of Robert W. Service's (1874–1958) poems. It was published in 1907 in ''Songs of a Sourdough''. (A "sourdough", in this sense, is a resident of the Yukon.) It concerns the cremation of a ...

". He often assigned unfamiliar tone to depicted features. In 1987 Harrison was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

for his contributions to Canadian culture. He also held honorary doctorates from Athabasca University (1991), the University of Victoria (1998) and the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

(2005). He was made a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

Personal life

Harrison's wife, Nicky, died from Alzheimer's disease in 2000. Harrison subsequently helped raise money for Alzheimer foundations. Harrison died in his sleep at the age of 88 on January 16, 2015.

Personal archive

In 2011, Harrison donated his personal archive to the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

's Library.

References

External links